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“And why. What was that text about?” I leaned over her desk. The move was probably aggressive, but the truth was, I wanted to be near her. And I wanted to watch her eyes, to see the truth or untruth she might be telling me.
She inhaled a deep breath as if she was shoring up her strength. She stood, probably because she didn’t like the way I was towering over her. Why hadn’t she been this way when she made her hasty decision to dump my ass?
She lifted her chin and looked directly into my eyes. “Your other fuck buddy and I chatted last night.”
“What?” She might has well have been talking Greek.
“She told me that while I had you at night, she had you during the day.”
“I don’t fucking believe this,” I said raking my hands through my hair. “I’m not sure what pisses me off more…no, I do know. The fact that you’d believe I’d do that to you tells me you still see me as a fucked-up client.”
She sighed. “You are the one that bragged about a woman every night.”
I wasn’t sure if I was more shocked or hurt. “You haven’t heard a single thing I’ve said to you except that, have you?” I shook my head as I took a beat to figure out if I should fight or cut my losses. “I don’t know who you talked to because I haven’t fucked anyone since meeting you. I have a guess that it was my secretary, since I had to tell her to get the hell out of the party and to stop coming on to me.”
Grace’s eyes stared at me like she wanted to believe me, but I saw that she didn’t.
“You know what. I came here to find out what happened, and now I have. Have a nice life.” I turned and left her office.
28
Grace
Monday
“Hunter,” I called after him as he made his way through my waiting room. I should have let him go. That was what I wanted. And yet, I was afraid I’d gotten things wrong. “Stay and talk.”
He whirled on me. “Talk? That’s rich coming from the runaway date.”
“You’re right. You’re absolutely right.” How could I understand human behavior so well, and yet, do things that defied that knowledge? Because I was a coward. All I knew was that he was right that I should have told him what I was doing. Considering his guilt following Sara’s abduction, I should have considered he’d think I was in danger. The part of me that wanted to protect my heart warned me not to trust him, and yet, his words were compelling.
You haven’t heard a single thing I’ve said to you except that, have you?
I had heard everything he said, but I was afraid to believe him. Then and now. How could I really be special to him? I supposed it was my guilt at being so terrible to him that had me asking him to stay so I could apologize.
“I’m sorry. I handled it all wrong.”
He glared at me. “That’s what you’re sorry about?”
I nodded.
His jaw ticked. “So, you still think I’m a liar and a cheat?”
It was interesting how much that seemed to bother him. “You were never monogamous in the past—”
“Bullshit,” he snapped. “In the past there wasn’t a relationship. I never promised anything to the woman, and they never expected anything. I never cheated or lied to them. Never.”
Guilt and yearning mixed in my chest making it hard for me to know what to do.
“I’ve spent weeks telling you there was something different between us, and one person tells you otherwise and you believe her?” he scoffed. “You don’t know or trust me.”
He started to turn to leave again.
“You’re right,” I blurted out.
He stopped at the door.
“I find it hard to believe you’re with me or that I’m enough. You’re an attractive billionaire. You could have anyone. Why would you want me?”
He turned, and for a moment, I thought he was going to say that he didn’t want me. Not anymore. But instead, he gave me a hard stare, and then said, “I thought you were real. You didn’t care about my money, you cared about me, or so I thought. Being with you soothes me. I feel more present in the world. And…I don’t know…call it chemistry or attraction, I just wanted to be around you.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, Grace, to make you believe me. I’ve been clear since the beginning, and if you can’t trust that, what is there to say? I mean, aside from some random woman lying about me, has anything happened to make you question my sincerity?”
I shook my head as tears formed in my eyes. I really was a terrible person for doubting him, or at least, not confronting him when the woman told me she was with him. “It’s not you. It’s my baggage.”
